13.11.2009

Ross 'The Boss' announces retirement from athletics

Five-time national 100m champion and member of the Australian Flame Josh ‘The Boss’ Ross has announced his retirement from athletics, effective immediately.

Bursting onto the track and field scene with his win in the Stawell Gift in 2003, Ross was ranked No. 6 on the all-time list after less than a year in competitive athletics and ends his career as the third fastest Australian over 100m of all time (10.08), trailing only Patrick Johnson (9.93) and Matt Shirvington (10.03) on the national leaderboard.

The 28-year-old Melbourne-based athlete said he was looking forward to the next phase of his life.

“Athletics has been my life, I’ve basically been married to it for 10 years and that’s almost half my life,” he said.

“I’ve enjoyed the life that it's given me, the freedom to travel, the freedom to meet new people and I think I will miss it but right now there are other things in my life that I want to follow and I think I’m hitting that age where I need to follow other avenues.

“I came to Melbourne and only trained for three or four months and then came back and won nationals and it was amazing after training for such a short period to come back and win. I’ve enjoyed Melbourne, I‘ve enjoyed training with (coach) Adam Larcom and (fellow sprinter) Aaron Rouge-Serret, but I’ve come to the age where I need to go down other avenues.”

Reflecting on his outstanding career Ross said the 2004 Athens Olympics were the highlight of his 10-year involvement in the sport.

“Definitely the Athens Olympics, I feel like just going back in time and doing the whole thing again,” he said.

“It was my first big trip overseas and being in an athletes’ village and that would have to be the professional highlight of my career.”

One of the nation’s most talented indigenous athletes and a member of Athletics Australia‘s Jump Start to London program, Ross will look to continue his involvement with the indigenous athletics community.  

“(The Jump Start to London program) has meant a lot, definitely, to be around and train with other young indigenous athletes and help them achieve their dreams, and helping to inspire young indigenous athletes has been a part of my career that I’ll miss but I can still be a part of that,” he said.

After two years away from the sport Ross made a dream return to the track at the national championships in March, taking out his fifth 100m title and securing a berth in the Australian team to contest the 4x100m relay at the IAAF world championships in August, joining Anthony Alozie, Matt Davies and Aaron Rouge-Serret in placing ninth (38.93). 

Ross’s rise through the ranks of Australian sprinting was a meteoric run. Just one year after his national series debut in Perth in 2003, Ross was selected to the 2004 Athens Olympic Games and went on to achieve dual world championships representation (2005, 2009) and Commonwealth Games selection (2006) as a 100m and 4x100m relay runner.

In 2005 he became the first Australian to take out the prestigious Stawell Gift from scratch and the third Australian to win the Gift for a second time.
Athletics Australia CEO Danny Corcoran said Ross had made a significant contribution to the sport.

“We have counselled Josh through this decision-making process and asked that he take his time in determining his future,” he said.

“Josh has been a great athlete in a very tough worldwide event. He is a legend of the Stawell Gift as both a dual winner and the first Australian athlete to win the race from scratch and we wish him all the best in the future.”